Home Automation

Motorised window coverings from Somy Systems get voice control through the Alexa-enabled myLink, allowing customers to control connected products using simple, natural phrases.

Controls include raising or lowering shades, exterior screens, rolling shutters, opening or closing blinds or draperies, and retracting awnings. The Somfy Alexa skill allows voice control of all Radio Technology Somfy (RTS) motorised products controlled by the myLink app, as well as scenes and schedules.

Honeywell announces the Lyric Controller home security system is certified for use with Apple HomeKit-- allowing customers to control the system via iDevice and either the Home app or Siri.

"Smart home technology has made consumers more reliant on their mobile devices to manage their homes," the company says. "The addition of HomeKit support to the Lyric Controller improves the connected home experience for consumers, and provides new opportunities for dealers. Dealers can leverage the Apple ecosystem of HomeKit partners to expand their connected home offerings and deliver a robust interface to manage the home."

Researchers at the University of Washington solve one of the issues posed the Internet of Things by 3D-printing plastic objects with built-in wifi capabilities-- no power source or electronics required!

"Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices," a team member says. "But the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with wifi using only plastic? That's something that no one has been able to do before."

The team 3D-printed three wifi-enabled objects-- a weighing scale, a flow sensor and an anemometer able to measure wind speed using commercially available plastics and wifi receivers. A combination of 3D-printed springs, gears and switches (based on the same principles allowing battery-free watches to keep time) translates motion into antenna-transmitted data, while backscatter techniques reflect radio signals emitted by a wifi router or other devices.

The China Light Industry Council (CLIC) will set China's technological standards for smart home devices including electric appliances, locks, lighting and furniture.

This follows China’s attempts in PC and smartphone technology to develop local standards that go global following China’s export dominance. By creating their own standard (or their own version of an international standard), China makers hope to avoid the fees they pay for Western standards and certification.

If successful, it also allows China to ask Western buyers to pay license fees and certification in order to build products for export in China. It’s karma payback for years of Western high tech standards ownership.

The Netatmo Smart Radiator Valve gets a new voice control option-- Amazon Alexa, specifically through integration with the Echo speakers and other compatible devices.

Smart Radiator Valves fit on hot-water radiators, and allow customers to control heating on a room-by-room basis. They promise an average 37% decrease in energy used to heat rooms, and Alexa integration provides an additional means for voice control together with the already available Google Assisant and Apple HomeKit.

Windows Central reveals Windows PCs are getting a new capability-- the Cortana Menu application has a "Connected Home" section, allowing users to sign in to different smart home control services.

Currently Connected Home is limited to 5 services, specifically Wink, Insteon, Nest, SmartThings and Hue. It runs on both Windows 10 desktop and mobile, and once connected users can manage the devices linked to service in question, such as Hue lights or Nest thermostats, through the Microsoft voice-controlled assistant.

The revelation comes as Microsoft and Harman Kardon start shipping the fruit of their recent collaboration-- the Invoke, a cylindrical speaker promising "rich, captivating sound" as well as the capabilities of the Cortana digital assistant. Like rivals such as the Amazon Echo the Invoke can also control connected devices.

French company Invoxia announces a smart speaker-- the Triby IO, a device the company posits as a smart home controller able to handle both Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa.

A sequel to last year's Triby speaker, the Triby IO features a similar design complete with a handle and small display on the front showing the time, weather doodles and messages. A magnet on the back allows customers to attach it to the fridge, while the 5 hardware buttons are customisable to control lights, thermostats or even HomeKit scenes combining multiple smart home products.

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